Game 4 Rd 1 Portland vs OKC 6:30pm Sunday SNW/TNT

[bondom34]

Logging off to avoid getting too pissed w/ trolls for a bit, but please win round 2. If it wasn't OKC it's you guys. Dame deserves it. .

[monopoman]

Logging off to avoid getting too pissed w/ trolls for a bit, but please win round 2. If it wasn't OKC it's you guys. Dame deserves it. .

The playoffs bring out the trolls in force this is the big stage where every flaw is magnified like it's the biggest crater on earth. I had to deal with this **** last year with people railing on Lillard.

[Sinobas]

Blazers won 5 on 8 tonight. The charge call on Dame, followed by calling him for a blocking foul, were two of the worst calls I've ever seen. The refs sent Paul George to the line 7 times vs 3 for Dame (and one of those was a garbage time intentional foul). LIke every time Paul drove they sent him to the line, it was crazy.

If standing in front of a guy, standing still, and taking a hit is a charge, why doesn't PG just do that every time?

[wjun15]

this is the reason why i wanted 3rd seed badly and didnt understand why the hell we would tank for the 4th seed to face GSW in the second round. Denver and SA are easily beatable even without Nurk

[wjun15]

Blazers won 5 on 8 tonight. The charge call on Dame, followed by calling him for a blocking foul, were two of the worst calls I've ever seen. The refs sent Paul George to the line 7 times vs 3 for Dame (and one of those was a garbage time intentional foul). LIke every time Paul drove they sent him to the line, it was crazy.

If standing in front of a guy, standing still, and taking a hit is a charge, why doesn't PG just do that every time?

there were some bad calls against us, but i feel like it went both ways. we were getting the benefit during the 1st quarter i felt like. also that charge that Seth drew I felt was a bad call that gave PG his critical third foul. Seth was sliding and wasn't close to set when PG ran into him. At the end PG was getting the benefit from the refs because they probably wanted to escape the stadium alive

[wjun15]

People who have bashed McCollum so bad. Like unbelievably bad this season. You gotta reflect on that.

CJ saved us when Dame was struggling the first two quarters. Also had some killer shots to stop OKC's momentum whenever they had some. When both of them are clicking (and aminu and harkless are hitting their 3s) its a beauty to watch.

[Wizenheimer]

I was sweating that game down the stretch. Not just because of the game situation but because my wife would pitch a major-league fit if the game bled into Game of Thrones. It would have been a 2nd battle of the bastards. But the game ended just as the opening credits were coming on...whew!

* Harkless and Aminu combined for 34 points, 19 rebound, 3 steals, 4 blocks and only 1 turnover. They were great

* Meyers and Curry were disappointing tonight. Curry can't seem to get open. Blazers might need to set some screens for him

* Kanter's defense isn't the disaster it was advertised to be. I mean, it's not good but it's not a massive liability either. I do think Portland should run some low post action for him in game 5; it would be a nice change-up

* In the first half CJ went 1-on-5 into traffic too often, but in the 2nd half he quit that and made quicker decisions. Kanter set a couple of great screens for him too. Dame got fouled about 37 times tonight, and at least 2 of the fouls called on him were wrong. Dame propelled Portland to the big lead by his play at the end of the 1st half and in the 3rd Q. Then CJ helped keep the lead where it was. It wasn't the usual dead zone when Dame sat..that was key.

LOL at OKC and all their smack-talk at the end of game 3. Now, it's up to Portland to win game 5...those close-out games are always a challenge

[Matt800]

Blazers won 5 on 8 tonight. The charge call on Dame, followed by calling him for a blocking foul, were two of the worst calls I've ever seen. The refs sent Paul George to the line 7 times vs 3 for Dame (and one of those was a garbage time intentional foul). LIke every time Paul drove they sent him to the line, it was crazy.

If standing in front of a guy, standing still, and taking a hit is a charge, why doesn't PG just do that every time?

there were some bad calls against us, but i feel like it went both ways. we were getting the benefit during the 1st quarter i felt like. also that charge that Seth drew I felt was a bad call that gave PG his critical third foul. Seth was sliding and wasn't close to set when PG ran into him. At the end PG was getting the benefit from the refs because they probably wanted to escape the stadium alive

I thought the seth charge was good, but it did look close. Yea this game seemed to have much more even officiating than game 3.

[wjun15]

After watching this game from start to finish I would have to say this is the most impressive game I've seen the Blazers play in a long long time. For them to keep their composure on the road in the hostile environment especially when they were down in the 1st and 2nd it was great to see. You could tell with that 11-0 run at the end of the 2nd, we had all the momentum.

Kanter held his own against Adams, and I know no one will agree with me but the play of the game for me was seeing him block the @#$ out of westbrook's layup. I dont even remember westbrook driving to the lane for a layup or dunk after that. Also, he had a key steal when Adams was trying to post him up, which made OKC stop going to Adams down low.

[zzaj]

I was sweating that game down the stretch. Not just because of the game situation but because my wife would pitch a major-league fit if the game bled into Game of Thrones. It would have been a 2nd battle of the bastards. But the game ended just as the opening credits were coming on...whew!

* Harkless and Aminu combined for 34 points, 19 rebound, 3 steals, 4 blocks and only 1 turnover. They were great

* Meyers and Curry were disappointing tonight. Curry can't seem to get open. Blazers might need to set some screens for him

* Kanter's defense isn't the disaster it was advertised to be. I mean, it's not good but it's not a massive liability either. I do think Portland should run some low post action for him in game 5; it would be a nice change-up

* In the first half CJ went 1-on-5 into traffic too often, but in the 2nd half he quit that and made quicker decisions. Kanter set a couple of great screens for him too. Dame got fouled about 37 times tonight, and at least 2 of the fouls called on him were wrong. Dame propelled Portland to the big lead by his play at the end of the 1st half and in the 3rd Q. Then CJ helped keep the lead where it was. It wasn't the usual dead zone when Dame sat..that was key.

LOL at OKC and all their smack-talk at the end of game 3. Now, it's up to Portland to win game 5...those close-out games are always a challenge

Ok, that made me lol...

As long as Kanter doesn't have to defend against the PnR consistently, or defend the rim on his heels against multiple passes, he does just fine as a positional defender. It's part of why I REALLY didn't want to see Gobert in the first round...Utah doesn't really post Gobert, but he gets a lot of action in all of those other ways.

And I agree with you about Kanter posting up. OKC in the second half did a good job of pushing him out of his initial deep position. It meant he was having to turn and face the basket against smaller defenders which didn't end well for the most part. Hopefully, Stotts is able to find ways of getting him involved a little closer to the basket.

I thought Zach did a really good job tonight. He seemed like he was having one of his good games. If I was Stotts I probably would have left him in a little longer in the 4th.

Blazers are going to want to make a statement early, but I can't tell if I want the Blazers to get a big lead early in the next game, or pull away in the second half, like tonight. The Blazers always seem to let up on the gas if they get an early lead, and OKC seems to feed off of their own emotional scoring runs. However, I suppose either option is much better than being down at the half...

I agree that it's going to be an intense game. I might have to self medicate a little bit before, during and after--at least after I'll have a built in excuse whether they win or lose.

[PDXKnight]

Can’t sleep, too hyped from this win!

[red_power]

Bench wingmans keep underperforming though. That's something we should worry about down the road.

[PDXKnight]

Bench wingmans keep underperforming though. That's something we should worry about down the road.

Seth curry and Rodney hood are due for big games. I’m expecting it to come

[Moonbeam]

Historically, teams with HCA that go up 3-1 with wins in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th game are 49-2 since 1984. I know prior series by other teams tell us nothing about a current series, but it's a comforting stat:

https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/7game-series-outcomes.fcgi?format=22111&status=3-1&pattern=H1H1A0A1

[DeBlazerRiddem]

People who have bashed McCollum so bad. Like unbelievably bad this season. You gotta reflect on that.

I don't think I've been among the worst but I was pretty critical early in the season, when he was struggling and looking for his shot every possession, every game, playing like a bit of a black hole.

I specifically remember having a critical discussion of him the day before his triple-double game... and that since that game he has been much better, especially his passing. He started mixing it up, throwing in some crafty passes that he didn't really do before when it was obvious to all that he was going to shoot, which IMO really opens up his game. An unpredictable CJ is an unguardable CJ. Anyways since that TD game I have not criticized him because he is playing the game the right way and the results speak for themselves IMO.

Its kind of interesting looking at his assist numbers through the year. But raw assists aren't even what have me shutting up about CJ, its HOW he is getting those assists - not just on kick outs or making the extra pass but by bending the defense himself and then giving easy looks to his teammates when defenders react. That is the next level for CJ and something I did not see much of early in the season.

Nov - 2.0
Dec - 2.4
Jan - 3.0
Feb - 3.1
Mar - 3.2
Apr - 3.5
May - 4.5

[Blazinaway]

People who have bashed McCollum so bad. Like unbelievably bad this season. You gotta reflect on that.

I don't think I've been among the worst but I was pretty critical early in the season, when he was struggling and looking for his shot every possession, every game, playing like a bit of a black hole.

I specifically remember having a critical discussion of him the day before his triple-double game... and that since that game he has been much better, especially his passing. He started mixing it up, throwing in some crafty passes that he didn't really do before when it was obvious to all that he was going to shoot, which IMO really opens up his game. An unpredictable CJ is an unguardable CJ. Anyways since that TD game I have not criticized him because he is playing the game the right way and the results speak for themselves IMO.

Its kind of interesting looking at his assist numbers through the year. But raw assists aren't even what have me shutting up about CJ, its HOW he is getting those assists - not just on kick outs or making the extra pass but by bending the defense himself and then giving easy looks to his teammates when defenders react. That is the next level for CJ and something I did not see much of early in the season.

Nov - 2.0
Dec - 2.4
Jan - 3.0
Feb - 3.1
Mar - 3.2
Apr - 3.5
May - 4.5

I have been all over CJ as well and have no problem admitting he has changed his game for the better - nothing but props to him for that! I think Dame came to the conclusion first during this season that we can't win a playoff series if we don't regularly have other guys involved more in the scoring, and that IMO is paying off more. I think CJ came to the same realization and the results you pointed out are the result. Of course we have a much improved bench this season and that certainly helps. Kudos to CJ for playing so well, hope he keeps it up! GO BLAZERS!

[zzaj]

What we have to remember with CJ is that in the slower paced Playoffs, players that are able to successfully ISO can actually be more valuable than in the regular season. It's part of why CJ has seemed better during this series--similar to last year, actually.

CJ's assist numbers seem to be up slightly which is a good thing, IMO.

[Wizenheimer]

People who have bashed McCollum so bad. Like unbelievably bad this season. You gotta reflect on that.

I don't think I've been among the worst but I was pretty critical early in the season, when he was struggling and looking for his shot every possession, every game, playing like a bit of a black hole.

I specifically remember having a critical discussion of him the day before his triple-double game... and that since that game he has been much better, especially his passing. He started mixing it up, throwing in some crafty passes that he didn't really do before when it was obvious to all that he was going to shoot, which IMO really opens up his game. An unpredictable CJ is an unguardable CJ. Anyways since that TD game I have not criticized him because he is playing the game the right way and the results speak for themselves IMO.

Its kind of interesting looking at his assist numbers through the year. But raw assists aren't even what have me shutting up about CJ, its HOW he is getting those assists - not just on kick outs or making the extra pass but by bending the defense himself and then giving easy looks to his teammates when defenders react. That is the next level for CJ and something I did not see much of early in the season.

Nov - 2.0
Dec - 2.4
Jan - 3.0
Feb - 3.1
Mar - 3.2
Apr - 3.5
May - 4.5

I must have Van Winkled it because I didn't realize it's already May. No wonder my grass is so tall

yeah, I know, May = playoffs but if the wisecracks are there, why waste them?

now I've been a big CJ detractor. I've wanted him traded. But I haven't just wanted him dumped, I wanted a good return that offered a path forward. Most of the trade ideas I've seen haven't really offered that

my biggest complaints about CJ have always been two things (other than defense), and I guess the two complaints are really only one complaint: that CJ was becoming more and more of a black hole on offense. Way too much 1-on-1, or 1-on-5, or hero-ball, and way too much dribbling. We've all seen what has happened to the offense when CJ is in his heavy iso mode; how the offense stalls and his teammates stand around.

and that trend was getting worse and worse over the years.

To piggyback on your assist/game numbers:

2015-16 - 4.3
2016-17 - 3.6
2017-18 - 3.4
2018-19 - 3.0

assist rate was the same:

2015-16 21.6
2016-17 18.0
2017-18 15.8
2018-19 13.8

that's just going the wrong way. At worst those trends should be stable like Dame's

and the thing is, it wasn't just a few posters here at RealGM saying these things. Whether it is RealGM or S2 or BlazersEdge or sports talk shows and blogs, a whole bunch of Blazer fans and analysts have been saying the same thing. That doesn't make them all right of course, but the 'flaws' in CJ's iso game have been noticed and criticized by many. I suspect that CJ is aware of that and has been working to correct it and try to modify his game and curb his shot-clock usage. That explains your monthly number list IMO. At least he's making the effort

the thing is, CJ in iso and 1-on-1 is not anywhere close to elite. He's above average, but only by a little; mainly because he has an anemic FT rate. On the other hand, CJ is elite as a spot-up shooter. He's very good in catch-n-shoot situations. The Blazers, and CJ, should be working on expanding what he's elite at and reducing what he's not elite at. He should be getting more off-ball action and less bribble-the-ball action

that's what I've been harping about for at least 3 years. CJ should be playing a lot more like Klay Thompson and a lot less like Allen Iverson. He has skills like Klay, not AI. That's why I have pointed at his assisted FG rate and saying it should be well over 50%, maybe closer to 60%. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who has concluded that because these are CJ's assisted FG rates over the last 4 seasons:

2015-16 - 36.2%
2016-17 - 38.9% (his most efficient season)
2017-18 - 33.3%
2018-19 - 46.6%

hopefully, they can get that number north of 50% next season. And yeah, he'll be in Portland at least as long as Olshey is in Portland. I guess my CJ complaints are as much directed at the coaches as at CJ. They should maximize the opportunities where he has elite skills and they really haven't been doing that. Too much reliance on the crutch of iso. CJ should have the ball in his hands less and the duration of his touches should be shorter

another thing that would help, in my view, is if Olshey could give up on the dream of CJ being the backup PG and actually land a competent back-up PG option for Stotts. I know that was supposed to be Turner, but ET has been a failure in that role

[Sinobas]

Haha! He was just pulling a Kevin Calabro, who announced the Blazers were leading 3-1 in the series at the end of the 3rd quarter. Let the conspiracy theories flow....

[dunlop212]

I wonder if the acquisition of Kanter and Hood has something to do with Lillard and CJ sharing the ball more often? There's a difference between throwing it to those guys vs. tossing it to turner or Leonard.